This application is a 371 of PCT/JP 99/04560, filed Aug. 24, 1999, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a powdery composition for nasal administration having an improved absorptivity of drugs through the nasal mucosa. More specifically, the present invention relates to a powdery composition for nasal administration that can be easily prepared using a drug and colloidal cellulose, and that can attain a high maximum blood concentration.
2. Background Art
In nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs such as anti-inflammatory steroids, for example, there is a need for the development of drugs for nasal administration, because: (1) local nasal mucosa can be the target site of action; (2) an immediate action is desired; (3) some drugs are poorly absorbed through oral administration, and the like.
Many of peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs cannot be readily absorbed in the body because,for example, after oral administration they are decomposed by proteolytic enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract:and the like. In order to use such drugs for treatment of diseases, therefore, they have to be administered via injection in most cases. Injection, however, imposes a considerable burden on patients in terms of pain, the need for hospital visits, and the like. Accordingly, there is a need for the development of noninvasive administration methods such as drugs for nasal administration that can replace injections.
Nasal administration is a method of administration in which drugs are transferred via the nasal mucosa to the blood. Nasal administration is under intensive study as an administration method of the non-injection type, similar to percutaneous administration, ocular administration, rectal administration, pulmonary administration, and the like. Among the non-injection type methods of administration, nasal administration can be easily applied. In addition, since the nasal mucosa has a well-developed blood system as compared to the skin, the ocular mucosa, the rectal mucosa, and the like, nasal administration is considered to have excellent absorptivity of drugs among the non-injection type of methods. Accordingly, nasal administration has been put into practical use for some drugs as pharmaceutical formulations for nasal administration. Furthermore, immediate action equivalent to that of injection can be expected by nasal administration, since it offers the rapid migration of drugs into the blood compared to oral administration. However, the absorptivity of drugs via nasal mucosa depends on the physical properties such as lipophilicity and molecular weight etc. of drugs. Generally, it has been noted that highly water-soluble drugs, highly fat-soluble drugs, and peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs having high molecular weights have low absorptivity. Accordingly, various ideas have been proposed to enhance the absorptivity;of these drugs via nasal mucosa.
For example, Suzuki et al. (Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 60-34925) report a sustained-release formulation for the nasal cavity comprising a cellulose ester and a drug.
The sustained-release formulation for the nasal cavity of the above Patent Publication is intended to adhere to the nasal mucosa so as to gradually release the drug for an extended period of time, thereby enabling the absorption of the drug via the nasal mucosa and a sustained-release of the effective amount thereof. However, since the sustained-release formulation for the nasal cavity of the above Patent Publication focuses on the slow release of the drug, the formulation is considered not to have a sufficient function of promoting the absorption of the drug. Besides, the preferred embodiments of the drug are anti-inflammatory steroids, analgesic anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-histamine drugs, and drugs having anti-allergy actions, i.e., drugs for which the maintenance of the local concentration of the drug is important rather than the absorptivity into the systemic blood circulation.
Thus, the sustained-release formulations for the nasal cavity of the above Patent Publication are not expected to have high absorptivity via the nasal cavity for highly water-soluble drugs, highly fat-soluble drugs, and peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs having high molecular weights. Thus, there is a need for the development of compositions for administration to the nasal mucosa in which these drugs can be effectively used in terms of therapeutic effects and therapeutic efficiency.
Nolte et al. (Hormone Metabolic Research Vol. 22, 170-174, 1991) and Bruice et al. (Diabetic Medicine Vol. 8, 366-370, 1991) report on insulin formulations for nasal administration that contain an absorption-promoting agent such as sodium glycolate or sodium taurofusidate. However, due to a problem of irritation of the nasal mucosa, these absorption-promoting agents have not been put into practical use.
It has already been disclosed in the specifications of Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 62-42888 and W097/31626 that a combination of crystalline cellulose which is a component of colloidal cellulose, and a viscosity-increasing agent is effective for nasal administration.
Suzuki et al. (Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 62-42888) report on a powdery composition for nasal administration having an excellent absorptivity via the nasal mucosa, said composition comprising a polypeptide and a water-absorbing and low water-soluble base. They also report that such a composition permits the nasal absorption of polypeptides without using an absorption-promoting agent.
However, even for the compositions of the above Patent Publication, the nasal absorption ratio (area under the curve (AUC) of blood concentration along the time after nasal administration) of polypeptides never exceeds 10-20% that after injection administration. According to Example 4 of the above Patent Publication, for example, the maximum blood concentration after the administration of 10 units of insulin to rabbits is 200, xcexcU/ml or lower, or about 20% that of the injection administration of the same unit, and the absorption ratio determined from AUC thereof is estimated to be 10% or lower.
The Patent Publication further describes the combined use of a water-absorbing and water-soluble base, and a water-absorbing and low water-soluble base at a ratio of 0.1-60% by weight, most preferably 1-50% by weight based on the weight of the water-absorbing and low water-soluble base. However, as the object and effects. of the combined use, it only states the effect of slow release (slow and sustained) compared to the use of the water-absorbing and low water-soluble base alone. Furthermore, the Patent Publication makes no mention of using nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs instead of polypeptides.
The specification of W097/31626 describes that, by combining a plurality of water-absorbing and low water-soluble bases including crystalline cellulose and a plurality of water-absorbing and water-soluble bases, including hydroxypropyl cellulose, powdery compositions for nasal administration that exhibit an excellent maximum blood concentration can be provided for various drugs, i.e. peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs and nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs.
However, in the above cases the combination of components is same as colloidal cellulose and the building components are identical, but the above components merely mixed as disclosed in the above two Patent Publications are different from a colloidal cellulose that is an essential component of the present invention, and therefore these Patent Publications make no mention of the present invention. For example, though one of the features of colloidal cellulose is that it can be well dispersed in an aqueous medium so as to form a stable suspension, it is well known to a person skilled in the art that the effect is different from and much superior to a simple mixture of crystalline cellulose and a viscosity-increasing agent as described in a pamphlet for Avicel manufactured by Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Accordingly, the disclosure in the above Patent Publications cannot be considered to make any suggestion regarding the present invention.
Peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs are generally expensive. Furthermore, the expected therapeutic effects cannot be obtained in many cases due to their low absorptivity and large variations in blood concentrations. There is a need, therefore, for compositions for nasal administration comprising peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs having better absorptivity. There is also a need for compositions for nasal administration that are safe and that have better absorptivity. There is also a need for compositions for nasal administration that can provide higher blood concentrations. The same holds true for nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs.
As described above, although the nasal administration of drugs has various merits as a method of administration, there is much room for improvement in terms of absorptivity, maximum blood concentration, and the like. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide compositions for nasal administration that have excellent absorptivity of drugs.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide compositions for nasal administration that exhibit excellent absorptivity, in particular much higher maximum blood concentrations.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide compositions for nasal administration that exhibit excellent absorptivity, in particular much higher maximum blood concentrations, of highly water-soluble drugs, highly fat-soluble drugs, and peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs having high molecular weights.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide compositions for nasal administration that exhibit excellent absorptivity, in particular much higher maximum blood concentrations, of drugs that originally have good nasal absorptivity such as highly water-soluble drugs, highly fat-soluble drugs, and nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs having high molecular weights.
Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide safe compositions for nasal administrations in these compositions for nasal administrations.
In intensive efforts to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that by using a drug and colloidal cellulose, it is possible to provide a novel powdery composition for nasal administration having excellent absorptivity for those drugs and nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs that had low nasal absorptivity, in particular a novel powdery composition for nasal administration with which a significantly high maximum blood concentration can be obtained, and thereby have accomplished the present invention.
Thus, the present invention provides a powdery composition for nasal administration comprising a drug and colloidal cellulose.
Preferred examples of the drugs of the present invention preferably include nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs and peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs.
As nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs, a wide range of nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs are available. Specific examples include anti-inflammatory steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesic anti-inflammatory drugs, sedatives, anti-depressants, antitussive expectant drugs, anti-histamine drugs, anti-allergic drugs, antiemetic drugs, hypnotic drugs, vitamins, sex steroid hormones, anti-cancer drugs, anti-arrhythmic drugs, anti-hypertensive drugs, anti-anxiety drugs, psychomimetics, anti-ulcer drugs, cardiac stimulants, analgesics, bronchodilatiors, anti-obesity drugs, platelet aggregation suppressive drugs, antidiabetic drugs, muscle relaxants, anti-migraine drugs, antirheumatic drugs, and the like. As nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs, one or more of those selected from the group consisting of the above can be used. Among them, preferred examples include antiemetic drugs, hypnotic drugs, vitamins, sex steroid hormones, anti-migraine drugs, analgesics, and the like.
More specifically, examples of such nonpeptidyl and proteinaceous drugs include: anti-inflammatory steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as hydrocortisone, prednisolone, triamcilnolone, dexamethasone, betamethasone, beclomeithasone, fluticasone, mometasone, fluocortin, budesonide, salbutamol, and salmeterol; analgesic anti-inflammatory drugs such as acetaminophen, phenacetin, aspirin, aminopyrine, sulpyrine, phenylbutasone, mefenamic acid, flufenamic acid, ibufenac, ibuprofen, alclofenac, diclofenac, and indometacin; sedatives such as scopolamine; anti-depressants such as imipramine; antitussive expectrant drugs such as sodium cromoglycate, codeine phosphate, and isoproterenol,hydrochloride; anti-histamine drugs such as diphenhydramline, triprolidine, isothipendyl, and chlorpheniramine; anti-allergic drugs such as amlexanox, azelastine, ozagrel, tranilast, and ketotifen; anti-emetic drugs such as; ondansetron, granisetron, metoclopramide, cisapride, and domperidone; hypnotic drugs such as brotizolam and melatonine; vitamins such as cyanocobalamine and mecobalamine; sexual steroid hormones such as estradiol, estritol, progesterone, and testosterone; anti-cancer drugs such as tamoxiphene and tegafur; anti-arrhythmic drugs such as propranolol and atenolol; anti-hypertensive drugs such as nicardipine; anti-anxiety drugs such as diazepam; psychomimetics such as nitrazepam; anti-ulcer drugs such as cimetidine and ranitidine; cardiac stimulants such as dopamine; analgesics such as morphine and buprenorphine; bronchodilators such as oxitropium and ozagrel; anti-obesity drugs such as mazindol; platelet aggregation suppressive drugs such as beraprost, and carbacyclin;, antidiabetic drugs such as acarbose and sorbitol; muscle relaxants such as pinaverium and inaperisone; anti-migraine drugs such as ergotamine, imigran, and alniditan; antirheumatic drugs such as actarit and platonin.
The peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs of the present invention are preferably those of which molecular weight does not exceed 30,000. As peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs of which molecular weight does not exceed 30,000, there may be mentioned, for example, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormones, growth hormone-releasing factors, somatostatin derivatives, vasopressins, oxytocins, hirudin derivatives, enkephalins, adrenocorticotrophic hormone derivatives, bradykinin derivatives, calcitonins, insulins, glucagon derivatives, growth hormones, growth hormone-releasing hormones, luteinizing hormones, insulin-like growth hormones, calcitonin gene-related peptides, atrial natriuretic peptide derivatives, interferons, interleukins, erythropoietins, granulocyte colony-stimmulating factor, macrophage forming stimulating factor, parathyroid hormones, parathyroid hormone-releasing hormone, prolactin, thyroid stimulating hormone-releasing hormone, and angiotensins. As the peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs of the present invention, one or more of those selected from the group consisting of these specific examples can be used.
According to the present invention, the particle diameter of the drugs is preferably less than 150 xcexcm. More preferably the diameter is less than 50 xcexcm wherein the effects are further enhanced. However, drugs which are too finely pulverized, though showing enhanced absorption promoting effects, pose a problem of pharmaceutical handling due to scattering, etc., and a more preferred diameter of the drugs is 0.5 xcexcm or greater and less than 10 xcexcm.
As a method of rendering the diameter of particles of the drugs 10 xcexcm, there can be mentioned the pressurized type of pulverization by mortars etc., the rotating impact type of pulverization by centrifugation etc., recrystalization by a spray drier, a lyophilizer etc.
The colloidal cellulose of the present invention is a colloidal cellulose obtained by, for example, spray-drying one or more of viscosity-increasing agents and crystalline cellulose, said viscosity-increasing agents comprising carboxymethylcellulose, sodium salts of carboxymethylcellulose, calcium salts of carboxymethylcellulose, xanthan gum, hydroxypropyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, acrylic acid starch, and the like. Among them, colloidal celluloses comprising crystalline cellulose and a sodium salt of carboxymethylcellulose or xanthan gum are commercially available from Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. as Avicel RC-581, Avicel RC-591, and Avicel CL-611, Avicel RC-N81, etc., which are preferred since they have already been put into practical use in pharmaceutical formulations.
Avicel RC-581 and Avicel RC-591 are each composed of crystalline cellulose and CMCNa at a mixed weight ratio of 89/11, and AvicelCL-611- at a ratio of 85/15, which are trade marks of products of Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Similarly, AvicelRC-N81 is a!special mixture of crystalline cellulose and a natural polysaccharide and is a trade mark of products of Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. These are colloidal cellulose made by the production method as described above, and have distinct properties different from those of physical mixtures of cellulose and CMCNa. For example, according to technical documents of Asahi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., colloidal cellulose has features that: (1) it has excellent suspension stability, (2) it has excellent emulsion stability, (3) the dispersion solution thereof exhibits thixotropy, and the like. It is clear to a person skilled in the art that these features are evidently different from those of crystalline cellulose itself or physical mixtures of cellulose and CMCNa.
The composition of the present, invention may be prepared by, for example, a method of mechanically mixing colloidal cellulose and a drug.
Mechanical mixing as used herein refers to mixing with a mixer of the fixed vessel type such as a high speed mixer or a mixer of the rotary type such as a V-type mixer. Specifically, mixing with the fixed vessel type is preferred since. it significantly enhances the effects of the present invention.
As used herein, mixers of the fixed vessel type include universal mixers, ribbon mixers, automatic mortars, ball mills, and other mixers such as high speed mixers, power fully automatic mixers, etc., as well as manual pressurized mixing with mortars. Mixers of the rotary vessel type are V-shaped mixers, cross rotary mixers, double-coned mixers, and the like.
The amount of the drug for use in the present invention is a therapeutically effective amount, and may be decided depending on the drug administered, the kind and degree of the disease to be treated, the age and weight of the patient, and the like. Generally, the amount is equal to 20 times that used for injection administration, and more preferably equal to 10 times.
Since the amount of the powder that can be applied to the nasal cavity is limited and depends on the amount required for treatment, the amount of colloidal cellulose cannot be generally specified, but it is preferably an equal amount to one weight part of the drug, most preferably 5 or more weight parts and more preferably 10 or more weight parts per weight part of the drug.
In order to improve the physical property, appearance, or smell etc. as a pharmaceutical formulation of the composition of the present invention, known lubricants, binders, diluents, colorants, preservatives, antiseptics, corrigents, and the like can be added as desired. As lubricants, there can be mentioned, for example, talc, stearic acid and salts thereof, wax, and the like; as binders, starch, dextrin, and the like; as diluents, starch, lactase, and the like; as colorants, Red No. 2 and the like; as preservatives, ascorbic acid and the like; as antiseptics, paraoxybenzoic acid esters and the like; as corrigents, menthol and the like.
The composition of the present invention may be formulated into a suitable dosage form in order to be administered as a pharmaceutical formulation. An example of such a dosage form is a capsule in which the present invention has been filled by each dosage unit, which is sprayed into the nasal cavity using a suitable dispenser. The composition of the present invention at an amount for unit dosage or at an amount for multiple doses is dispensed in a suitable container, and the composition of the present invention may be administered at an amount for unit dosage given at one time or in divided doses.
Thus, in accordance with the present invention, a powdery composition for nasal administration having excellent absorptivity via the nasal cavity and a significantly higher maximum blood concentration than the conventional compositions for nasal administrations can be provided for highly water-soluble drugs, highly fat-soluble drugs, and peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs having high molecular weight.
According to the powdery composition for nasal administration of the present invention, it is possible to obtain significantly-higher maximum blood concentration at an amount equal to the conventional amount for nonpeptidyl and nonproteinaceous drugs as well as expensive peptidyl and proteinaceous drugs. Accordingly, the amount used of the drug can be reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to stably obtain the desired therapeutic effect by minimizing variation in blood concentrations.
Furthermore, the powdery composition for nasal administration of the present invention has an excellent absorptivity (sustained blood concentration) similarly to the conventional powdery compositions for nasal administrations, and it obviates the need of using specifically absorption-promoting agents that have an irritating nature and therefore it is safe, and it is expected that the desired therapeutic effect can be stably obtained.
Therefore, it is believed that the present invention is highly valuable for drug therapy by the administration of non-injection type drugs.